Freezing Temps & Pre-Dawn Call Times

I’ve been working to help get a new project off the ground and today we took another step in the right direction. This morning, before dawn, in the very dark and unusually cold air we set out to the San Elijo lagoon in Solana Beach to meet up with some runner friends. The temperatures were near freezing as we hiked past frosty grass toward the salt marsh. Our runners soon came from the dark tree-lined trail and met us in a fog of  breath and steam.

This group already had about 9.5 miles under their feet and I was still sipping my first cup of joe. In fact, the first thought when my alarm went off at 5:15 was that these guys were already a couple miles into their 10 mile trip. They do this every Wednesday, pretty much rain or shine (or bitter cold) and I’ve wanted to document their commitment for a while now.

I shot quickly and tried to keep them moving, mostly for us all to keep warm. By the end of the shoot my hands were frozen and woodlike (metal alloy camera body + freezing temps = gloves next time, you moron!). I managed around 300 frames and then sent them on their way to the coffee house a mile down.

Above is just a tiny sample of what will be many more images but I was excited to get this going so I wanted to share.  More to come!

~ by Gary Allard on January 28, 2009.